Author Archives: Ian Pelham

Many congratulations to our Marsh Manchester team, led by John Penwill, along with our Occupational Disease Claims Practice and Insolutions colleagues, who won the Claims Initiative of the Year Award at the recent CII Manchester Insurance Awards. This award recognised the success achieved by the three Marsh teams to work together to create a unique, market-leading approach to helping organisations manage their exposures to mesothelioma claims- a significant issue for companies in the Manchester area in light of it’s history of manufacturing activities. The team’s approach included development of a highly effective Disease Liabilities Risk Management Tool, supported by a well targeted and sustained marketing campaign.

Insolutions, Marsh Claims and other Marsh Risk Consulting colleagues recently held a joint London seminar with Kennedy’s law attended by some 40 clients and prospects. The event was a big success in consolidating Insolutions’ relationship with clients and demonstrating to prospects the combined expertise and award winning solutions offered in respect to occupational disease claims. It also enabled the Insolutions team to meet Kennedy’s client base, resulting in several fruitful discussions. The speakers Bill Kirkham, Ian Pelham, and Michelle Jakes discussed the pitfalls and solutions of insolvent insurance claims, insurance and corporate archaeology and quantifying risk and identifying transfer options. To learn how Insolutions can assist your clients or prospects
please contact Ian Pelham (+44 1603 207 648)

London,

In response to a survey of asbestos in 16 British schools by the Asbestos Training and Consultancy Association, Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk adviser, has outlined some of the risk management and insurance processes that schools should be taking to identify and manage their asbestos exposures.

Kevin Molloy, UK Leader of Health and Safety in Marsh Risk Consulting, explained: “All schools, regardless of their ownership or funding status, should have conducted asbestos surveys in order to begin compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. This legislation stipulates that organisations have a duty to identify where asbestos might be in its buildings and what condition it is in, therefore enabling it to accurately assess the risk it poses to teachers, pupils, support staff and the wider general public.

“If the initial assessment identifies asbestos-containing materials in any buildings, current Health and Safety Executive policy suggests that it should be left undisturbed and subsequently managed, rather than be removed. Schools then need to develop a robust asbestos risk management plan which is kept up to date and is fit for purpose.

“Ensuring legal compliance by completing a ‘tick-box’ exercise and creating an Asbestos Register is simply not enough. These plans need to be reviewed and routine inspections of asbestos material should be conducted on a regular basis to ensure that the risk has not changed over time.

“The issue regarding when an Employers’ Liability insurance policy is triggered for mesothelioma related claims is being contested through the courts under a test case, Durham v BAI (Run-off) Limited. If the courts rule that the policy should be triggered when the illness develops, rather than at the time of infection, then insureds will potentially have a gap in insurance cover, relating to the years between exposure to asbestos and the actual manifestation of any disease.

“This principle already applies to Public Liability insurance following the Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council and Municipal Mutual Insurance case, which covers any claims relating to pupils that have contracted an asbestos-related illness. Aside from the obvious duty of care, schools may run the risk of sizeable financial losses in the future, depending on the outcome of this appeal, if they fail to manage asbestos materials on their premises effectively in the long-term.”

Marsh published research in October 2009 on actual mesothelioma cases before the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in London which highlighted the range of UK occupations and industries affected by diseases such as mesothelioma.

Over a third (36%) of the cases examined were from 1956 to 1960, making it likely that initial exposure would have been 40 years prior to the effective start of a claim. This indicator, supported by data from the Health and Safety Executive which indicates UK mesothelioma claims are expected to peak in 2016, suggests that it is likely that affected employees will have been exposed to asbestos between the late 1960s and mid 1970s. The final settlement values in the cases reviewed ranged between £50,000 and £200,000.

Ian Pelham, a Managing Consultant at InSolutions, part of Marsh’s Risk Consulting Practice, added: “Marsh’s research highlights that few, if any, industries are immune to the possibility of mesothelioma claims. Mergers and reorganisations in the second half of the 20th century have resulted in many public sector entities now being unaware of their potential exposures to asbestos-related claims.

“With the fast track approach to claims, championed by Senior Master Whitaker, in place in the courts entities now have a very limited time window to locate their legacy employers’ liability coverage, once they received notice of a potential claim.

“If local education authorities or independent schools have not yet investigated their potential future liabilities, it would be prudent to do so now. They should ensure that they review and understand their history and that, where available, they catalogue copies of their old employers’ liability policies and store them safely. If an entity becomes aware of a potential gap in its insurance record that might give rise to a mesothelioma claim, it should investigate whether the insurers from that period can be found as a matter of urgency.”

Ian Pelham and Guy Realf have been invited to present about the benefits of the ICE platform to Belgium business leaders. This will be on February 13th at the Marsh Brussels office as part of their annual “Limits of Liability” conference.

Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk adviser, is advising organisations to examine their potential exposures to asbestos-related claims ahead of a predicted peak in 2016. Marsh’s advice follows its publication of new research on actual mesothelioma cases before the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in London which highlights the range of UK occupations and industries affected by diseases such as mesothelioma.

The research reveals that only one-quarter (27.5%) of the claims analysed were found to involve organisations operating in the mechanical, electrical and process engineering industries. The rest of the cases examined emanated from claims in the chemicals industry (11%); construction (7.5%); metals and minerals (6.5%); and the electronic products, electronics and IT hardware sector (6.5%). The final settlement values in the cases reviewed ranged between £50,000 and £200,000.

Over a third (36%) of the cases examined were from 1956 to 1960, making it likely that initial exposure would have been 40 years prior to the effective start of a claim. This indicator, supported by data from the Health and Safety Executive which indicates UK mesothelioma claims are expected to peak in 2016, suggests that it is likely that affected employees will have been exposed to asbestos between the late 1960s and mid 1970s.

Marsh’s research also suggests that widespread publicity surrounding mesothelioma claims is impacting on the number being made by dependants which, at 47%, is almost as many as the number instigated by principals (53%).

Marsh’s new White Paper, Mesothelioma Claims, which was produced in conjunction with the University of East Anglia (UEA), examines 15% of the court cases commenced between September 2006 and October 2007 in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in London and assigned to Senior Master Whitaker, the Senior Master of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, Queen’s Bench Division, Royal Courts of Justice, and the Queen’s Remembrancer.

Ian Pelham, who oversaw the research project with UEA and is a Managing Consultant at InSolutions, part of Marsh’s Risk Consulting Practice, commented: “Marsh’s research highlights that few, if any, industries are immune to the possibility of mesothelioma claims arising from past employment practices.

“Mergers and acquisitions in the second half of the 20th Century, followed by a contraction back to ‘core business’, has resulted in many organisations now being unaware of their potential exposures to asbestos-related claims.

“With the fast track approach to claims, championed by Senior Master Whitaker, in place in the courts companies now have a very limited time window to locate their legacy employers’ liability coverage, once they received notice of a potential claim.

“If companies have not yet investigated their potential future liabilities, it would be prudent to do so now. They should ensure that they review and understand their corporate histories and that, where available, they catalogue copies of their old employers’ liability policies and store them safely. If a company becomes aware of a potential gap in its insurance record relating to a site that might give rise to a mesothelioma claim, it is advised to investigate whether the insurers from that period can be found.”

Terry Kendrick, MBA Programme Director, Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia, said: “Supporting Marsh with data analysis on this project has provided real insight for our MBA students studying strategic risk management. The startling issues around the potential growth and value in mesothelioma claims have provided a real and vital case for them to study.”

Marsh’s White Paper, Mesothelioma Claims, includes commentary from Senior Master Whitaker, Richard Mattick, of Counsel with the London office of law firm Covington & Burling LLP, and a case study of Polestar Group, one of the UK’s largest printers of magazines and newspaper supplements. To obtain a copy, please contact vivian.x.wong@marsh.com or visit: www.marsh.co.uk.

About Marsh

Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk adviser, has over 23,000 employees and provides advice and transactional capabilities to clients in over 100 countries. Marsh is a unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), a global professional services firm with approximately 53,000 employees and annual revenue exceeding $11 billion. MMC also is the parent company of Guy Carpenter, the risk and reinsurance specialist; Kroll, the risk consulting firm; Mercer, the provider of HR and related financial advice and services; and Oliver Wyman, the management consultancy. MMC’s stock (ticker symbol: MMC) is listed on the New York, Chicago and London stock exchanges. MMC’s Web Site is www.mmc.com. Marsh’s Web site is www.marsh.com.

About the University of East Anglia

The University of East Anglia was founded in 1963 and directly employs around 3,000 full-time staff, has over 14,000 students and an annual income of some £170m. It is estimated to be responsible for indirect employment of some 3,300 people outside the institution and generates direct and indirect economic impact of around £420m. In the latest Research Assessment Exercise, over 50 per cent of the university’s research activity was deemed to be world leading or internationally excellent with 87% in total being of international standing. Thanks to the university and its Norwich Research Park partners, the city has the fourth greatest concentrations of ‘most highly cited researchers’ in the UK, after London, Oxford and Cambridge.

Our client-focussed expertise continues to be recognised through insurance industry awards. At the recent UK Broker Awards in London a combined Marsh claims and consulting team won the Risk Management Service of the Year. The award was in respect of our cross functional Disease Liabilities Risk Management Service. InSolutions Ltd is a subsidiary of Marsh Risk Consulting and plays a key role in delivering this service.

The awards panel were particularly impressed with our integrated approach which enables clients to easily access services relevant to them for what is a very complex issue. Colin McCaul QC, a leading lawyer in asbestos litigation, said “The phased approach created by Marsh constitutes a comprehensive tool for assessing and risk managing a company’s disease liabilities.”

Mark Daynes, Marsh Risk Management Practice Claims Leader said ‘this is a superb team effort, involving Claims and Marsh Risk Consulting’s InSolutions team, Modelling, Analysis and Design (MAD) and Claims Defensibility teams.
Congratulations to everyone involved and in particular Bill Kirkham from Claims who has developed and led the product together with Ian Pelham from the InSolutions team, Man Cheung from the Modelling and David Huxley from the Claims Defensibility team.@

For more information on the occupational disease service please contact Paul Cole or Ian Pelham